26 February 2015

World Skateboarding Grand Prix (WSGP), one of the world's leading skateboarding event management companies, has announced that Kimberley in South Africa will once again host the Skateboarding World Championships in 2015. The event will be held at the Kimberley Diamond Cup, which runs from 07 - 10 October 2015 at Kimberley's permanent, state-of-the-art Kumba Skate Plaza. Skaters from at least 50 countries expected to compete in five world championship events, including the Women's Street Championships, Vert Championships, Big Air Championships, Rider Cup Team Championships and Men's Street Championships. This year for the first time, the Skateboarding World Championships will extend invitations to the top finishers of notable international contests like the Mystic Cup, Copenhagen Pro, the Turkish Skateboarding Championships, Bryggeriet Malmo and others around the world. Top finishers from U.S. contests, including X Games, Dew Tour, U.S. Skateboarding Championships and Street League, will also earn spots in the Skateboarding World Championships.

25 February 2015

Angola's Minister of Interior, Angelo Veiga Tavares, has announced that the country will introduce tourist and ordinary visas with multiple entries in March 2015. The modernisation process taking place in the Angola'sMigration and Foreigners Services (SME) has made it possible to overcome the hindrances regarding the introduction of multiple entry visas.
The Minister also confirmed that Luanda's4 de Fevereiro International Airport will set up the RAPID system, which will enable Angolan and foreign travellers to pass through the immigration control system in less than fifteen seconds.

23 February 2015

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has launched a gorilla tracking promotion valid during the months of April and May 2015 (01 April - 31 May 2015) as well as during November 2015 (01 - 30 November 2015). According to UWA management, during the promotion
foreign non residents will pay US$350 instead of US$600 for a gorilla
permit, foreign residents US$300 (US$500) and East Africans will part
with Ush150,000 (Ush 250,000) a permit. For more information please
contact the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

In case you are planning to use the Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach road (north <> south) through the Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda in the next couple of days, you should be aware that the Paraa ferry will be will be grounded from today (23 February 2015) until 25 February 2015 for routine checks and maintenance.
The Paraa vehicle ferry usually crosses the River Nile south-north and north-south at the following times: 7:00am, 9:00am, 11:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:00pm, 7:00pm. Special crossings are offered at an additional fee in between these crossing times.

Murchison Falls National Park is located in north western Uganda at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley about 300km by road northwest of the country's capital Kampala. The National Park spreads inland from the shore of Lake Albert around the Victoria Nile and covers 3,480km². Murchison Falls National Park is the largest and oldest conservation area in Uganda, hosting 76 species of mammals and 451 birds.

The ASQ Survey covers 34 key service areas and includes 8 major categories such as access, check-in, security, airport facilities, food and beverage, retail and more. All participating airports use the same survey questions, creating an industry standard set of responses that allows participants to track and analyze their performance, as well as benchmark results against airports across the globe. All participating airports can view the ASQ survey results of all other participating airports on a confidential basis.

19 February 2015

The flag carrier of Qatar, Qatar Airways, has announced a major expansion in South Africa. The airline will introduce flights to Durban and will increase its weekly frequencies to Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Effective from 17 December 2015, the airline will launch four new weekly flights to Durban via Johannesburg bringing the total frequency to Johannesburg up from 10 weekly flights to a double-daily service. From 01 October 2015, Qatar Airways will be operating daily flights to Cape Town ahead of the busy 2015/16 winter travel season, an increase from five weekly flights this winter.

Tanzania-based low cost-airline Fastjetis set to introduce its fourth domestic route. From 30 March 2015 the airline will operate four flights a week between Mwanza Airport (MWZ) in Mwanzaand Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), which serves the cities of Arusha and Moshi.Flights between the two destinations are open for booking (flight dates: 30March – 31 May 2015).

18 February 2015

Herpetologist Johan Marais, author of "A Complete Guide to Snakes of Southern Africa", has published a new poster about the common snakes of Durban. The poster is available as a free download in high resolution and is designed to be printed in A3 (or A4). Kudos & many thanks, Johan!

17 February 2015

#Chappies must be fully assessed for safety before the drive can re-open to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. We remain CLOSED to all.
— Chapman's Peak Drive (@ChapmansPeakSA) March 6, 2015

Due to alien vegetation clearing, Cape Town's famous Chapman's Peak Drive, one of the most spectacular marine drives in the world, will be closed every Wednesday for four weeks between 09:00 – 16:00 starting 25 Feb 2015.

16 February 2015

Professional wildlife photographerWill Burrard-Lucas, best known for the Beetlecamand his stunning footage of the Luangwa Valley in Zambia, has released a new ebook. "Ten things you can do right now to improve your wildlife photography" is available for FREE. Thx & kudos Will!

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has published the on-time performance results of domestic airlines’ flying out of OR Tambo in Johannesburg, Cape Town International Airport, and Durban's King Shaka International Airport in January 2015.
On-Time Performance is measured by comparing the actual off-block time
(when aircraft pushes back) against the airline schedule time for a
departing
flight. The measurement is done in accordance with the IATA
(International Airlines Transport Association) universal standard
benchmark with considers a 15 minute deviation from the scheduled time
as an on-time departure.

13 February 2015

Namibia's flag carrier, Air Namibia, will increase its flights between Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) in Windhoek and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg on 29 March 2015. The airline will introduce a third flight a day between the two destinations on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. This will bring the total number of flights to 21 a week. Air Namibia currently operates two flights a day on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and a third service Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between Windhoek and Johannesburg.

South Africa's flag carrier, South African Airways (SAA), is set to resume its daily nonstop flights between OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York on 07 March 2015. The resumption of the nonstop service on the northbound flight between the two destinations will reduce the overall travel time on the route by nearly 90 minutes. While SAA's flight from New York to Johannesburg is operating daily on a nonstop year-round basis, the northbound flight has been temporarily making a one-hour refuelling stop in Dakar (Senegal) due in part to lower travel demand during the winter months. South African Airways' flights between New York and Johannesburg are operated on the state-of-the-art wide-body Airbus A340-600 aircraft, featuring 42 full-flat 180-degree beds in Premium Business Class and 275 seats in Economy Class.

12 February 2015

The flag carrier of Rwanda, Rwandair, will launch three direct flights per week between OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg (South Africa) and Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka (Zambia) on 28 March 2015. The airline will operate one of its Boeing 737-700 aircrafts on the route.

05 February 2015

South Africa's flag carrier, South African Airways, have been awarded a 4-star ranking from Skytrax for the 13th consecutive year. In a statement issued on 02 February 2015, Skytrax chief executive, Edward Plaisted, said:

"South African Airways have maintained quality levels throughout what has been a difficult year for the airline, delivering world-class Product and Service standard to their customers, making this 4-Star Airline ranking well-deserved. The Skytrax Star Ranking audit examines more than 800 areas of product and service delivery, across both airport operations and the cabin experience, and this demonstrates that South African Airways passengers can look forward to a high quality of product and service. The Skytrax Ranking provides an accurate and independent guide for travellers around the world, and the 4-Star Airline status is a most respected category. South African Airways has been ranked a 4-Star Airline for a number of years, and we are delighted to see them be awarded with this status for 2015."

Skytrax
is an aviation research organisation specialised in quality audit and
research work for commercial airlines and airports throughout the world. The Skytrax Star Ranking audit examines
more than 800 areas of product and service delivery, across both
airport operations and the cabin experience.